Foreign and Commonwealth Office

North Korea: Hezbollah

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the 23 July 2014 ruling of the US District Court for the District of Columbia of "clear and convincing evidence" of the government of North Korea’s support for Hezbollah; and whether support for Hezbollah may fall under the proscriptions of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are aware of the ruling made by the US District Court for the District of Columbia in 2014.There is a substantial body of evidence that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) supplies arms to customers worldwide. Its sale of arms and related material to countries already in the grip of conflict exploits and increases regional instability. UN Security Council Resolution 2270, adopted on 2 March 2016, contains a range of robust measures to tackle the DPRK’s proliferation networks.The UK proscribed Hizballah’s External Security Organisation in 2001, extending this in 2008 to include Hizballah’s Military Wing, namely the Jihad Council and all units reporting to it. However, the group is not proscribed in its entirety. The provisions of the Terrorism Act regarding support for proscribed organisations only apply to activity which has taken place in the UK.

South Sudan: Administration of Justice

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the progress of justice and reconciliation processes in South Sudan.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Both accountability and reconciliation remain essential for South Sudan to move forward. The formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity in April marked an important step in political reconciliation and we welcome the ongoing efforts of community groups, including churches, to pursue reconciliation at the local level. We look forward to the establishment of the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing and welcome the steps already taken by the African Union on the Hybrid Court, which needs to be set up as a matter of priority.

South Sudan: Politics and Government

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the UN Security Council resolution of 31 May calling for a suspension of the Transitional Government of National Unity's decision to increase the number of states in South Sudan to 28.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have consistently expressed serious concern at President Kiir’s decision on 2nd October 2015 to create 28 states in South Sudan, in contradiction to the peace agreement he signed in August 2015. The UK voted in favour of UN Security Council Resolution 2290 of 31 May 2016, which underlined the need to address this issue. We welcome that the Transitional Government of National Unity has subsequently begun the process of forming a Boundary Commission that should resolve this dispute.

Colombia: Human Rights

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what step they are taking to ensure that British businesses in Colombia do not contribute to human rights abuses there.

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they are supporting British businesses in Colombia so that they do not contribute to the human rights violations against, in particular, the indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Encouraging businesses to respect human rights is a global priority for this Government. We recognise that communities such as indigenous and afro-descendant people and those in isolated rural areas are particularly vulnerable.The UK National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights sets out how the Government is implementing the UN Guiding Principles. British firms are expected to uphold these principles in their overseas operations, as well as in the UK. It is for each country to implement a National Action Plan to ensure compliance with the Guiding Principles.We worked closely with the Colombian authorities to develop their National Action Plan, published in December. All companies operating in Colombia, including British ones, should comply with the requirements and guidelines set out in that National Action Plan.The Minister for Trade and Investment, my noble Friend, the Lord Price of Sturminster Newton, launched a campaign for British businesses to support peace, primarily through respect for human rights, during his visit to Colombia last month. Twenty of the largest British companies operating in Colombia subsequently agreed to align themselves to the Colombian National Action Plan for business and human rights.

Colombia: Human Rights

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to make representations to the President of Colombia during his state visit to the UK in November, about domestic laws that potentially conflict with international human rights obligations and the rights of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The State Visit presents an opportunity for us to continue our engagement with the Government of Colombia on a wide variety of themes.We continue to raise the issue of human rights with the Colombian Government at the highest levels. In recent months the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon Friend, the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), and I have all urged President Santos to continue Colombia's efforts to address human rights concerns.We support the peace process and hope that achieving a sustainable peace agreement will benefit all Colombian citizens, including indigenous and afro-descendant communities.I am pleased to note that at the 46th session of the Organisation of American States and General Assembly, the Colombian Government supported the adoption of the instrument for the rights of indigenous peoples of the Americas and renewed its commitment to continue advancing respect for pluralism and ethnic and cultural diversity.

Colombia: Human Rights

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to arrange for a meeting between the President of Colombia and representatives from non-governmental organisations in the UK concerned with human rights in Colombia, when the President makes his State Visit to the UK in November.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The upcoming State Visit is an excellent opportunity to continue our engagement with the Government of Colombia on a varity of issues. We are working closely with Buckingham Palace and the Colombian government on the details of the President’s programme, which will be developed over the next few months.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Postgraduate Education

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what sources of funding are available for students on two-year masters courses, and whether they have plans to increase the size of government-backed loans to cover the tuition fees for courses of longer than one year.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: The new master’s loan for postgraduate study of up to £10,000 will be available to eligible students studying on master’s courses from Academic Year 2016/17, including eligible master’s courses that last two years. This loan has been designed to provide a contribution to costs for students and the £10,000 maximum will apply to all eligible courses regardless of course length.We have no current plans to offer larger loans for students on longer courses.Other sources of finance for students include:Professional Career Development Loans of between £300 and £10,000 are bank loans and are available to eligible students for postgraduate study. Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/career-development-loans/overview.Some charities, foundations and trusts award partial funding for postgraduate study. Further information is available at: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/charities_foundations_and_trusts.htm.Information is also available on a wide range of scholarships. Further information is available at http://www.scholarship-search.org.uk/

Department for International Development

World Humanitarian Summit

Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the outcome of the United Nations World Humanitarian Summit held in Istanbul in May.

Baroness Verma: The World Humanitarian Summit was a success with widespread agreement that the humanitarian system needs to reform and an emerging consensus on the way forward, in particular a renewed commitment to compliance with International Humanitarian Law. Improving the architecture to tackle forced displacement and migration was a major theme running throughout the Summit as was the need to ensure the most vulnerable are not left behind.

Gaza: Overseas Aid

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to support Gaza and Gazan refugees in the light of warnings from the UN that Gaza will be uninhabitable by 2020.

Baroness Verma: As part of its Bilateral Aid Review, DFID is in the process of agreeing future multi-year support for Palestinian development, which will include support for Gaza. This will include access for reconstruction materials, basic service delivery, support to the private sector and assistance for the most vulnerable.

Palestinians: EU Aid

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the 2013 Report of the European Court of Auditors EU Direct Financial Support to the Palestinian Authority said (1) that a number of civil servants in Gaza were being paid without going to work, and (2) that the EU was not using its leverage on the Palestinian Authority to promote reforms; and what assessment they have made of the EU allocation of 252.5 million euros to the Palestinian Authority in 2016 through PEGASE.

Baroness Verma: The European Court of Auditors report of the EU’s Direct Financial Support to the Palestinian Authority assessed the European External Action Service’s and the European Commission’s management of the direct financial support provided through the PEGASE mechanism to the Palestinian Authority. The report is accessible in the public domain.The UK is supportive of the EU’s programme of financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority, which supports delivery of essential basic services to Palestinians and helps maintain the viability of the two-state solution.

Lebanon: Refugees

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking in co-operation with the government of Lebanon and UN agencies to ensure that all refugee children in Lebanon receive the basic and remedial education that they need.

Baroness Verma: The UK has committed up to £40m per year to support education in Lebanon up to 2019/20 as part of our £2.3bn response to the Syria crisis. We are a key proponent of the regional No Lost Generation Initiative, and endorsed an agreement at the London Supporting Syria and the Region conference in February that all refugee and affected host community children should be in education by the end of the 2016/17 school year.We are aligning our support behind the Government of Lebanon’s second Reaching All Children with Education Programme (RACE II), working with a range of partners to scale up quality formal and non-formal education. We have already helped expand the Lebanese education system to reach 200,000 Syrian children and are also supporting the expansion of high-quality, standardised non-formal education and training. This includes basic numeracy and literacy and catch-up learning programmes to reach the most vulnerable out of school Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian children and youth. We are also tackling barriers to school entry, protection issues and pyscho-social problems that prevent children accessing education. We also support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to ensure Palestinian refugees have access to education and training in Lebanon.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions the Secretary of State for International Development has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Baroness Verma: The UK Government has enjoyed a successful partnership with the Global Fund to date. As the third largest donor for the replenishment period 2014-16, the UK’s investment will improve the lives of millions of people – helping to save approximately 580,000 lives through the prevention of 8.4m malaria, HIV and TB infections.Earlier this year, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and I committed that the UK would spend £500 million a year battling malaria. The UK’s contribution to the replenishment of the Global Fund will play an important role in meeting the commitment.The UK wishes to see a successful replenishment; the final decision on a UK contribution is yet to be made and will depend on a multitude of factors, including the outcome of DFID’s Multilateral Aid Review to be published later in the summer, and I look forward to discussing it with the Chancellor.

Department for Education

Free Schools: Location

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 6 June (WA273), whether local consultations are the only means by which the Education Funding Agency is accountable to residents of an area where a new school is planned and specifically to those residents who wish to protest against such a decision.

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent neighbouring schools are included in the consultation process of site selection by the Education Funding Authority.

Lord Nash: Free school trusts are required, under Section 10 of the Academies Act 2010, to consult those they think appropriate before the school opens and to have due regard to the outcome of that consultation. The duty to consult rests solely with the trust.In addition, all new free schools must comply with planning legislation and almost all require the submission of a planning application to permit the establishment of a new school. This means that local communities have an opportunity to express their views both supporting and objecting to the school proposal. The local planning authority must fully consider all such submissions in deciding whether to grant planning permission.The Secretary of State has a duty, under Section 9 of the Academies Act 2010, to consider the likely impact of opening a new academy on maintained schools, academies and institutions within the further education sector in the area in which the additional school is, or is proposed to be, situated. The Department for Education publishes impact assessments for new schools on GOV.UK.

Children in Care: Personal Records

Baroness Young of Hornsey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the impact the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) will have on care leavers’ full access to their care records.

Lord Nash: The Government is currently assessing the full impact that the General Data Protection Regulation will have on individual areas of data processing. Certain provisions of the Regulation will have direct effect in UK law, including a continuing right of access for data subjects to their personal data and other information. In certain areas, the regulation leaves the option for domestic legislation to restrict rights that arise under it in certain circumstances (article 23).The Regulation will apply from 25 May 2018. Before then, the Department for Education will assess whether the current statutory guidance covering care leavers’ access to their case records needs to be revised.

Ministry of Justice

Courts: Sunderland

Lord Shipley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect work to begin on the new court complex in Sunderland under the Court Reform Programme.

Lord Faulks: No decisions have been taken regarding the court estate in Sunderland. Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) keeps its operational estate under review to make sure that it aligns with the delivery of reformed court and tribunal services. The reform of court and tribunal services which is underway will provide greater access to the courts using modern technology, reducing the need for attendance at court.

The Lord Chairman of Committees

House of Lords: Facilities

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask the Chairman of Committees whether he has any plans to (1) monitor use of the Committee Corridor Writing Room, and (2) consider returning the room to its original use if usage is low.

Lord Laming: Some light-touch monitoring of the Committee Corridor Writing Room is being undertaken. We are seeking to publicise the room as a flexible working space for Members to make use of, in the same way as the Peers’ Writing Room which is currently well used. Pressure on space is increasing as Members are decanted for essential works, such as fire life safety improvements.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Telecommunications

Lord Allen of Kensington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the planned new Electronic Communications Code will be a statutory code.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The existing Electronic Communications Code is already enshrined in primary legislation, it is currently set out at Schedule 2 of the Telecommunications Act 2003.

Telecommunications

Lord Allen of Kensington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which regulator will have responsibility and oversight of the planned Electronic Communications Code.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Under paragraphs 106 -119 of the Communications Act 2003 OFCOM are responsible for application of the Code to electronic communications providers.

Broadband: Business

Lord Allen of Kensington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce a broadband universal service obligation for businesses.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government has committed to putting in place a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) by the end of this Parliament. Once in place the USO will act as a safety net, giving both households and businesses the legal right to request an affordable broadband connection of at least 10 Mbps (Megabits per second). A connection speed of 10 Mbps will support many small businesses, and will help them make an even greater contribution to our economy.

Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press Inquiry

Baroness Hollins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 26 January (HL Deb, col 1152), who, in addition to Sir Brian Leveson, will be consulted before a decision on Leveson Part 2 is made, and what form that consultation will take.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Criminal proceedings connected to the subject matter of the Leveson Inquiry, including the appeals process, have not yet been completed. We‎ have always been clear that these cases must conclude before we consider Part 2 of the Inquiry.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Baroness Manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many civil servants involved in the delivery of Universal Credit have left the Department for Works and Pensions in each of the last five years; how large is the team working on Universal Credit delivery; and how many people involved in the delivery team when it was originally created remain within the department.

Lord Freud: Universal Credit rollout started in April 2013. At the same time the Universal Credit Directorate was established within Operations, to deliver Universal Credit with 80 paid employees.AT 31st March 2016, the Universal Credit Directorate consisted of 4,295 paid employees.The numbers of Universal Credit Directorate employees who have left DWP since April 2013 are as follows:Leaving PeriodNumber of Employees who left DWPApril 2013 to March 20145April 2014 to March 201546April 2015 to March 2016357 Of the original 80 employees who were part of Universal Credit Directorate in April 2013, 67 are still employed by DWP.

Universal Credit

Baroness Manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many council tenants in receipt of Universal Credit were in rent arrears in (1) 2014, and (2) 2015; and how many are currently in arrears.

Baroness Manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the Universal Credit claimants currently in rent arrears did not have a record of being behind with their payments before moving to Universal Credit.

Lord Freud: The Department holds a range of information relating to Universal Credit and housing but do not hold the information you have requested.

Universal Credit

Baroness Manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to undertake a review of the impact of the policy by which Universal Credit is paid monthly in arrears.

Lord Freud: The payment arrangements for Universal Credit are designed to help reduce welfare dependency by mirroring the world of work, in which 75 per cent of employees are paid monthly. Appropriate budgeting support is available to ensure recipients are supported effectively.

Social Security Benefits

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 21 July 2015 (HL1153), whether they will now provide an estimate of how many, and what proportion of, households affected by the proposed reduction of the benefit cap to £23,000 per year receive (1) Employment and Support Allowance, (2) Income Support, and (3) Jobseeker's Allowance.

Lord Freud: We will publish an impact assessment in due course.

Home Office

Passports: Personation

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many passport applications have been made using the legend of a deceased person in each of the past six years.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We do not routinely publish this data.

Undocumented Migrants: Albania

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many illegal Albanian migrants have been captured in the UK in the last 12 months, how many have asked for asylum, and how many have been removed from the UK.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The attached tables shows the number of Albanian immigrants arrested on Enforcement Visits and as a result of Police Enquiries from the 1 April 2015 to the 31 March 2016 inclusively.Year/MonthNumber of Enforcement visitsYear/MonthNumber of Police Enquiries2015 04372015 041172015 05462015 051352015 06572015 061092015 07282015 071192015 08602015 081202015 09552015 091282015 10662015 101512015 11302015 111342015 12402015 121172016 01352016 011272016 02192016 021472016 03232016 03154Total496Total1558Asylum applications and returns of nationals of Albanian are released on the GOV.UK website at in the latest Immigration statistics January to March 2016: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release In the asylum table as_02_qhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525625/ asylum2-q1-2016-tabs.ods and the returns table rv_03_qhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525001/ returns1-q1-2016-tabs.ods



PQ HL474 - Table 
(Word Document, 12.58 KB)

EU Immigration

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to speed up family reunions for refugees and migrants now in Europe, particularly in Greece, Italy and France; and whether special provision has been made for the 1,400 unaccompanied children in Greece, and households headed by women.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Goverment continues to work with key EU Member States to ensure the Dublin Regulation family reunification process works effectively.Under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015, the UK and France have committed to ensuring that provisions of the Dublin III Regulation are used efficiently and effectively. To assist the handling of such cases, the two Governments have established a permanent official contact group, agree single points of contact within respective Dublin Units and a UK asylum expert was seconded to the French administration to faciliate the improvement of all stages of the process. The UK and France are running regular joint communication campaigns in northern France which inform unaccompanied children and others of their right to claim asylum in France and the family reunion process.We are also providing support to the Dublin units in Greece and Italy, both bilaterally and through European Asylum Support Office (EASO).On the 4 May the Prime Minister announced the Goverment will work with local authorities on plans to resettle unaccompanied refugee children from Europe. We are looking to transfer children who are already present in Europe before the EU-Turkey deal came into force on 20 March.Ministers and senior officials are engaged in ongoing discussions with Greece, Italy, and France to identify and transfer to the UK unaccompanied refugee children where it is in their best interests. We are also consulting local authorities, non-governmental organsitations, UNICEF and UNHCR.The UK is the largest bilateral contributor to the humanitarian response to the crisis in Europe and the Balkans with a total contribution of £65 million. This includes nearly £46 million to provide life saving aid to migrants and refugees including food, water, hygiene kits and infant packs, and protection for the most vunerable, as well as support to organisations helping goverments build their capacity to manage arrivals in Greece and the Balkans. The efforts of the partners we fund are targeted to reach the most vulnerable including children.It also includes the £10 million Refugee Children Fund the Department for International Development (DFID) has created the needs to vulnerable refugee and migrant children specifically in Europe. The fund will support three specialist and mandated organisations the UNHCR, Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee to work with host authorities to care for and assist unaccompanied or separated children in Europe and the Balkans.

Immigration

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 8 June (HL380), when they expect immigration to fall below 100,000 a year; and how they define "sustainable levels" of immigration.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We consider net migration of tens of thousands per year to be sustainable.We will continue to work towards achieving the ambition to reduce net migration to sustainable levels over the course of this Parliament.

Asylum: France

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what legal resources they are providing to refugees in the camps in Calais and Dunkirk to make asylum applications to the UK.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Asylum seekers cannot claim asylum in the UK if they are in France. If a person requires international protection they should claim asylum in France, which is bound by the same EU and international obligations as the UK.If after claiming asylum in France it is established that the UK is the state responsible for examining their claim on the basis of Dublin Regulation, including under its family unity provisions, a take charge request may be submitted to the Home Office.

Asylum: Syria

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of asylum applications over the past 12 months came from Syrian minors, and what percentage of those were accepted.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In the year ending March 2016, there were 41,563 applications for asylum from main applicants and dependants. Of these applications, 1% (367) were made by Syrian nationals aged under 18 at the time of application.In the year ending March 2016, there were 268 initial decisions for Syrian main applicants and dependants, who were aged under 18 at the time of decision. Of these decisions, 94% (253) were grants of asylum or an alternative form of protection.Initial decisions may not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period.In addition to those asylum seekers who apply in the UK, resettlement schemes are offered to those who have been referred to the Home Office by UNHCR (the UN agency for refugees). The figures above exclude such resettled persons.The Home Office publishes quarterly figures on asylum applications and initial decisions within the Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics January to March 2016, is available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2016.

Asylum: LGBT People

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 13 June (HL433), when they expect the quality assurance of the Home Office’s Case Information Database data relating to sexuality-based asylum claims to be completed, and whether they plan routinely to record asylum claims based on, or relating to, gender identity issues in a way that can be easily aggregated.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The process of quality assuring the data held on the Home Office's Case Information Database relating to sexuality based asylum claims continues to be undertaken by the Home Office. We are currently looking at ways to expedite this process. There are no current plans to record information where the detail of the asylum claim basis relates to gender identity issues on Home Office databases.

HM Treasury

Financial Services: North Korea

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the North Korean Embassy in London has access to any UK financial system, including the banking and insurance systems.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The UN Security Council and EU have implemented sanctions targeted at North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. These sanctions are in effect in the UK but are not targeted at the North Korean Embassy or its staff. HM Treasury is aware that the Embassy has had difficulty in finding a bank in the UK to open an account. It is for banks to decide on their risk appetite and to take into account the costs of managing those risks when determining whom they do business with.

Treasury: Labour Turnover

Baroness Kramer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many civil servants within HM Treasury have (1) been recruited into the department (a) from within the civil service, and (b) from outside the civil service, and (2) left the department to (a) other posts within the civil service, and (b) other roles outside the civil service, in each of the last five years.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The numbers of staff recruited into the department from within the Civil Service and outside the Civil Service can be found in the table below:-  Civil Service WideExternalApr 2011 to Mar 201212494Apr 2012 to Mar 201389162Apr 2013 to Mar 2014126128Apr 2014 to Mar 2015132201Apr 2015 to Mar 2016197275The numbers of staff leaving HM Treasury and moving to Civil Service Departments and to other roles outside of HM Treasury can be found in the table below:- ReasonApr 2011 to Mar 2012Apr 2012 to Mar 2013Apr 2013 to Mar 2014Apr 2014 to Mar 2015Apr 2015 to Mar 2016End Fixed Term13134243End Loan/secondment In7669546171Permanent Transfers Out (Civil Service)5260848763Resignation103788710584Other3034271210Total leavers274254256267271

Treasury: Labour Turnover

Baroness Kramer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average duration of employment for civil servants within HM Treasury in each of the last five years.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The table below shows the average duration of employment in each of the last 5 years.   Apr 2011 to Mar 2012Apr 2012 to Mar 2013Apr 2013 to Mar 2014Apr 2014 to Mar 2015Apr 2015 to Mar 2016Average duration7.06.86.86.45.8

Treasury: Labour Turnover

Baroness Kramer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many HM Treasury civil servants involved in (1) the 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review, (2) the 2013 Comprehensive Spending Review, (3) the 2015 Spending Review and Autumn Statement, (4) the Summer 2015 budget, and (5) the 2016 budget, have since left the Treasury.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: We do not hold data on this centrally therefore to answer this question would be at disproportionate cost.

Economic Situation

Baroness Kramer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the amount of spending, (2) the growth in spending, (3) the number of people employed, and (4) the proportion of GDP contributed to the UK economy, by each of the following sectors in each of the last five years: (a) wholesale and retail trade; (b) repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; (c) transportation and storage; (d) accommodation and food service activities; (e) information and communication; (f) financial and insurance activities; (g) real estate activities; (h) professional, scientific and technical activities; (i) administrative and support service activities; (j) public administration and defence; (k) compulsory social security; (l) education; (m) human health and social work activities; (n) arts, entertainment and recreation; (o) other service activities; and (p) activities of households as employers.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The independent Office for National Statistics have published an output breakdown of GDP and employment statistics to Q1 2016. These can be found on the ONS website alongside the latest Second Estimate of GDP Q1 2016 release and UK Labour Market May 2016 release. The relevant extract is provided in the attached.



Data from ONS.
(Word Document, 17.47 KB)

Taxation: Uniforms

Baroness Young of Hornsey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many corporate uniforms in the UK could be diverted from landfill or incineration if the tax regime relating to permanent branding were changed.

Baroness Young of Hornsey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the financial implications of changing taxation requirements to replace permanent branding on corporate uniforms with non-permanent branding.

Baroness Young of Hornsey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the barriers to amending taxation requirements so that the permanent branding on corporate uniforms could be replaced with non-permanent branding.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: There is an income tax deduction available where an employer provides corporate uniforms, or where an employee must purchase such clothing. To be considered a uniform clothing must meet certain criteria. The clothing must be: specialised, recognisable as a uniform and intended to identify its wearer as having a particular occupation. These requirements ensure that the tax deduction is used as intended. No assessment has been made of how many corporate uniforms in the UK could be diverted from landfill or incineration if these tax rules were changed. No assessment has been made of the financial implications of changing these taxation requirements.

Small Businesses

Baroness Burt of Solihull: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the financial and administrative burden to small businesses of the proposals to introduce mandatory quarterly reporting.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: HM Revenue and Customs will publish an initial assessment of the impacts of the new requirements for businesses alongside an overview of the potential costs and savings as part of consultations planned this year. This will include the contribution these reforms will make towards the £400m administrative burdens reduction target for business.

Cabinet Office

Monarchy: EU Law

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Sovereign is subject to legislation originating in the EU.

Lord Bridges of Headley: In relation to UK law civil and criminal proceedings cannot be taken against the Sovereign as a person under UK law.Under EU law, EU Heads of State enjoy a special status, in accordance with generally accepted principles of international law.

Peers: Females

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer given by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 9 June (HL Deb, col 817), how the consideration of honorary titles for the spouses of women members of the House of Lords will be conducted; whether same sex spouses and civil partners will be included in the exercise; and when that exercise will be completed.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Government recognises that there are some intrinsic inequalities within the courtesy titles system as it relates to honorifics. We have sympathy with those who are seeking to resolve such inequalities and we are looking into the process around courtesy titles, including in relation to same sex spouses and civil partners. The resolution of these inequalities is a very complex issue and we are at an early stage. We will provide an update in due course.

Department of Health

Olympic Games: Brazil

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 22 February (HL6127), what assessment they have made of how long men who carry the Zika virus remain infected, and whether there is a lasting risk that they can infect their partner.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Zika virus has been detected up to 62 days in the semen of men with symptomatic Zika infections, but this does not indicate whether the man can pass on the infection for this length of time. Current Public Health England (PHE)/National Travel Health Network and Centre guidance advises that if a man has clinical illness compatible with Zika virus infection, precautions are taken to avoid transmission for six months after returning from a Zika transmission area. The PHE guidance is believed to be precautionary in light of the available evidence, and the recommendations are modified as evidence emerges. The current guidance can be found in the attached document Zika infection – Guidance related to Sexual Transmission. The guidance is reviewed regularly by the pre-Scientific Advisory Group of Experts and is in line with guidance from World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.



Zika Infection Guidance Sexual Transmission
(PDF Document, 32.24 KB)

Female Genital Mutilation

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who is responsible for follow-up health and welfare checks of newborn female babies whose mothers have been victims of female genital mutilation.

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government at what intervals female newborn babies born to mothers who have been victims of female genital mutilation will receive follow-up health and welfare checks.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is illegal, extremely harmful and it is child abuse. Girls born to mothers who have had FGM are offered the same range of newborn and infant health checks as offered to all families. In addition to the routine newborn and infant health checks offered to all families as part of the Healthy Child Programme, professionals have safeguarding responsibilities meaning that if they have any concerns about FGM they should take appropriate safeguarding actions, including sharing this with key professionals within the child’s life as part of local safeguarding procedures. In addition, any concerns about potential risk of FGM must be recorded within the child’s Red Book. A multi-agency approach is essential to protect girls from harm and as such, midwives, health visitors, general practitioners and school nurses amongst others are all responsible for the health and welfare of all children they see, irrespective of whether the mother has had FGM or not. The document Female Genital Mutilation Risk and Safeguarding Guidance for professionals (Department of Health, May 2016) provides information for health professionals on the specific issues frequently encountered when dealing with FGM. A copy of this document is attached.



FGM Safeguarding Report
(PDF Document, 2.41 MB)

Maternity Services

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 May (HL8238) and the response deposited by Peterborough and Stamford Hospital NHS Trust on 18 May which showed that Peterborough’s City Hospital maternity unit has been closed to women about to give birth 41 times in the past three years, whether they will review the adequacy of the arrangements within the NHS for forecasting and meeting national and local demand for maternity services.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Maternity Transformation Programme (MTP) has been established to drive the implementation of the recommendations of Better Births, the report of the National Maternity Review. A copy of the report is attached. The MTP is overseen by the Maternity Transformation Board which met for the first time on 8 June and is chaired by Sarah-Jane Marsh, Chief Executive of Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Birmingham Women’s Hospital. The safety of mother and baby is paramount. We want to ensure that women have as many choices as possible, while minimising any known risk to either themselves or their baby. Maternity services are unable to plan the exact time and place of birth and there are occasions when a unit cannot safely accept more women into their care. In such cases, the only safe alternative is to close the unit temporarily. It is important of course, that where a unit closes, there are systems and guidelines in place to ensure pregnant women have access to the next closest maternity unit and the type of care they have chosen, including midwifery-led care.



Better Births Report
(PDF Document, 3.61 MB)

Genetics: Screening

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 4 February (HL5344), how many of the 1,286 genomes processed by 4 February came from (1) the rare disease programmes, and (2) elsewhere in the cancer programme; and how many of those genomes from (1) the rare disease programmes and (2) the cancer programme have now been interpreted clinically, either by GEL or the General Medical Council.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Genomics England (GeL) has confirmed that all 1,286 of the genomes quoted in my Written Answer of 4 February related to the cancer programme. GeL has also confirmed that at that time 5,102 rare disease genomes had been sequenced. GeL is in the process of developing rare disease and cancer reports and is discussing these with clinical sites. Significant work has gone into building a pipeline to process genomic and clinical data at scale. This requires collection of complete datasets and a complex design process to minimise manual interaction with the process to improve accuracy. The work on the pipeline is not planned to have been completed and thoroughly tested until later this year, but early results are already flowing through it and GeL has returned 39 reports to pilot sites. This number will increase steadily over the coming year as experience is gained.

Genetics: Screening

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 February (HL5970), how many of the 8,000 planned reports in 2016 will come from (1) the rare disease programme, and (2) the cancer programme.

Lord Prior of Brampton: At this stage, Genomics England cannot provide an exact breakdown of the 8,000 planned reports. This will depend on the participants that NHS Genomic Medicine Centres recruit.

Genetics: Screening

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what success Genomic England has had in engaging the NHS with (1) the number of informed consents captured by each of the 13 Genomic Medical Centres (GMCs), (2) the number of samples supplied by each of the 13 GMCs to Genomic England, (3) the number of usable samples received from each of the 13 GMCs by Genomic England, (4) the number of Binary Alignment Map files generated to date for each of the 13 GMCs, (5) the number of variant files (VCF) generated to date for each of the 13 GMCs, and (6) the number of clinical reports returned to patients for each of the 13 GMCs, in (a) the rare disease and (b) the cancer programme.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Genomics England (GeL) and NHS England have confirmed that: The total number of informed consents as reported by NHS Genomic Medicine Centres (GMCs) is 9,939. The breakdown by NHS GMC can be found in the table below. The total number of samples sent to the United Kingdom biobank from NHS GMCs is 6,777. The breakdown by GMC can be found in the table below. Over 99% of samples have passed quality control first time in the biorepository, and the others are being followed up with NHS GMCs directly to obtain replacement samples. In terms of the number of Binary Alignment Map files generated to date, GeL does not break its figures down in this way. It has confirmed that the number of completed Whole Genome Sequences (WGS) is 10,079 consisting of 8,408 rare disease and 1,671 cancer. In terms of the number of variant files generated to date, GeL does not break its figures down in this way. It has confirmed that the number of completed WGS is 10,079 consisting of 8,408 rare disease and 1,671 cancer. GeL is in the process of developing rare disease and cancer reports and is discussing these with clinical sites. GeL has returned 39 reports to pilot sites and expects the number of reports to increase steadily over the coming year.  NHS GMCGMC self- reported recruitmentSamples received at UK BiobankNorth East and North Cumbria426357West London307262Greater Manchester666232South London1,4361,316East of England923795Oxford927678South West337221North Thames2,4831,290Wessex638510West Mids1,327786North West Coast434321Yorks and Humber350Total9,9396,777

Genetics: Screening

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many patients have died to date having supplied consent without receiving a clinical report in (1) the rare disease programme, and (2) the cancer programme; and in each case what percentage of total consents that figure represents.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The information requested is not yet available. The 100,000 Genomes Project is a research project which is investigating the benefits of whole genome sequencing for patients with cancer and rare diseases. One of the objectives of the Project is to establish the evidence to inform future decisions on National Health Service testing.

Latrunculins

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what field safety notices the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued for latrunculin A and latrunculin B; when these substances were first licensed by the MHRA for use in any medicinal products; and whether the MHRA has issued any advice regarding the clinical use of these substances.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Latrunculin A and Latrunculin B are not contained in any licensed medicinal products and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has not issued any advice regarding the clinical usage of these substances, any field safety notices or other communications.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Baroness Cumberlege: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether cancer treatments submitted to, but not assessed by, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) before 1 April will be approved under the new NICE framework for cancer treatments.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has confirmed that appraisals of cancer technologies started prior to 1 April 2016 will be considered using the updated NICE methods and processes which came into effect on 1 April 2016. Companies whose technologies fall under this scenario have been offered the opportunity to make a case for consideration within the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Kidney Cancer

Baroness Cumberlege: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the average time from diagnosis to treatment for patients with metastatic kidney cancer in England.

Lord Prior of Brampton: No assessment has been made. NHS England collects data on cancer waiting times and these data are published on their website. The data comprises of organisational performance against operational standards that support waiting time commitments laid out in the NHS Constitution. These include the standard that 96% of patients should begin first definitive treatment for all cancers within a maximum of 31 days from diagnosis. In April 2016 97.4% of patients waited 31 days from diagnosis to first definitive treatment for all cancers and 94.9% for urological cancers. The data is collected at tumour group level and it is not possible to identify metastatic kidney cancer.